Why Self Monitoring of Blood Glucose ls Important

We all know that we should be testing our blood sugar levels frequently throughout the day… but we’re busy. We’re bringing kids to school, heading to work, running into a meeting, or attending to the million other things we have to do every day. Maybe we’ve grown to rely on our continuous glucose monitor (CGM) to show our blood sugar level and as a result, we neglect our finger-prick blood sugar testing.

Why Test Blood Sugar Regularly

The American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) recommends that people with type 1 diabetes check their blood sugar levels 6-8 times per day, including:

Before and after meals (to determine insulin:carb ratios)

When low blood sugar level is suspected (check, then re-check after 15 minutes)

When adjusting medication

Before driving

More often during illness and pregnancy

Testing of blood sugar levels gives us a perfect at-a-glance view of how our body is reacting to three inputs: food, insulin, and exercise. But that’s not all that needs to be done.

Although measuring these inputs starts with testing your blood sugar level, the key component to making a lasting improvement in overall blood sugar levels is more than just testing blood sugar levels more frequently.

The process of improving blood sugar levels is cyclical. Equally important to testing is documenting the results in some way, then evaluating the data to see what has been working and when you might need to make a change to your food (amount and/or type), medication (dosage and/or timing), or exercise routines (intensity and/or timing).

There’s an old business quote that’s been argued for some time, but in the case of diabetes management, it rings true,

“You can’t manage what you can’t measure.”

Or put another way,

“You can’t manage what you don’t measure.”

Whether you’re switching insulin, starting a new food plan or exercise routine, or just want to improve your blood sugar levels, it’s never too late to start.

I’m currently switching from using Humalog insulin in a pump to injections of Tresiba and Regular insulin. There have been challenges. It’s been an incredible learning experience for me, both in terms of jumping out of my comfort zone after more than 12 years with a pump and getting used to tracking my injections and the new active time of my insulin.

The complacency I had felt with my long-running insulin regimen and (almost) lack of documentation is now challenged because with this change of insulin, there is no given anymore. I’m starting from square one and need to test more frequently and document the results for each dose to see if I have the correct dosage or not. I’ve documented my food, sleep, basal, bolus, and corrections. Now I’m evaluating and figuring out what I need to adjust in order to have more success with my new insulin routine.

Maybe you’re a creative, like me. You value flexibility, have a varied schedule, might be a little scatterbrained and you feel that this structured process is contrary to your natural way of thinking. When I feel like this rigid “measure-document-evaluate-adjust” is too much to remember during my busy schedule, I remind myself of what I have found frequently in my experience with many people who have type 1 diabetes:

People who routinely measure of their inputs (food, insulin, exercise) and who not only document those inputs but also evaluate them and make frequent changes based on the data, are the same people that have the lowest A1c levels and the lowest blood sugar fluctuations throughout the day. Bar none.

It’s all because of this engineering/problem-solving mindset.

Whether you like it or not, you need a routine built around checking your blood sugar levels and documenting the data. This and only this will give you the information needed to gain control of your health. With this data, you can begin glucose pattern management (GPM) or analyzing the results of your testing and food intake. This recognizing, analyzing, and acting on the out-of-target blood sugar readings will help you move into the target range more frequently.

If you need help, ask your doctor or healthcare professional for a recommendation of how to document your blood sugar results. There are traditional paper versions to document blood sugar/food/medications. There are also free online PDFs to print and fill out and spreadsheets like these that you use on your computer. If you want a tech option for tracking your blood sugar levels and food intake, try an online food/fitness tracker program such as Mynetdiary.com, myfitnesspal.com and many others out there. If you’d rather track your food, insulin and exercise with a simple online app, check out this list of the best blood sugar tracking apps of 2017.

Structure Leads to Success

Structure your diabetes testing and documentation routines. With regular and consistent practice, these routines will soon become habit and will no longer seem like a chore.

Yes, we’re all rushed through our everyday life, but in order to gain more control of blood sugar levels:

Slow down

Test your blood sugar levels more frequently

Document your blood sugar levels, food, medication, and exercise

Evaluate the results to see where changes are needed

Make small adjustments to your food, medication, and/or exercise to improve your results

You are worth the time and effort it takes to achieve improvements in your blood sugar levels!

“Measurement is the first step that leads to control and eventually to improvement. If you can’t measure something, you cant understand it. If you can’t understand it, you can’t control it. If you can’t control it, you can’t improve it.” H. James Harrington

Lisa La Nasa was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 2002 at age 25 and has a strong family history of T1D; both her mother and brother were diagnosed in the early 1980s. In 2015, Lisa launched diaVerge Diabetes & diaVerge on Facebook where you can find her writing and coaching others through the daily challenges of diabetes management, low-carb eating, travel and cooking. Lisa's back in the USA after 7 years living in South America with her husband and two young daughters. Her other interests include mindfulness, interior design, yoga, fitness, coffee, small homes, and international living.